


Chocolate Covered Cherries

by SixofCrowsBabies



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Gen, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 23:08:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16396859
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SixofCrowsBabies/pseuds/SixofCrowsBabies
Summary: Betty and Jughead drop Juniper off at daycare, and they are surprised to see Cheryl working there.





	Chocolate Covered Cherries

**Author's Note:**

> I know I’m writing this way too early, but I just had to write something.

It was December 21st, and Christmas cheer hung in the air in Riverdale. Josie and the Pussycats went around caroling, for a price, of course, Sheriff Keller draped his car in Christmas lights, and Pop’s had a large Christmas tree on its roof. The spirit was infectious, leading even the Blossoms to put a small wreath on their front door. 

Jughead Jones and Betty Cooper walk to the daycare in the center of town. Polly is visiting for the holidays, and she brought the twins, who are now a little over two years old. Now that Betty is a senior, her mother finally trusts her enough to run errands and take the babies out on her own. She even trusts Jughead enough to let him go with her. 

They walk with Juniper in the middle. Betty holds her right hand, while Jughead holds her left. Dagwood is at Veronica’s house, playing with her little cousin. Both twins love the snow, and they jump into it any chance they get. Jughead and Betty are having a hard time keeping Juniper focused enough to walk. 

They arrive at the daycare, which is decorated with cartoon characters wearing Christmas items. They walk inside, and both teenagers are greeted with a surprising sight. Cheryl is sitting at the front desk, wearing a Santa hat and a little pin that says, “Don’t be a Grinch!”

“Cheryl,” Betty says. 

Cheryl looks up at her, then notices Jughead. She raises her eyebrows a little bit, then says, “I guess I missed something while I was away. I wouldn’t have pegged you as the type.” 

“It’s not,” Betty stammers. “We’re not...it’s Polly’s.”

“Polly’s,” Cheryl repeats. “Of course. So is this Turnipseed, or Darkwood?”

Neither of them responds, and Cheryl lowers her head slightly. Jughead takes that as a sign that she feels bad. Maybe leaving town was good for her personality. 

Jughead walks Juniper to the desk, then says, “So, Cheryl, what are you doing working here? I thought you were at some private college in California.” 

“I am,” Cheryl responds. “I’m just visiting for the holidays. And I’m not working here, I’m volunteering.”

Jughead leans back to whisper to Betty, “Are you sure about this?”

Betty shrugs and whispers back, “Why not? It’s not like she would do anything to harm Jason’s baby.”

Jughead nods in agreement, then looks back up and says to Cheryl, “Alright, we’re keeping this one here for a few hours. Take good care of her.”

“But of course,” replies Cheryl. She stands up and comes out, then looks at Juniper. She grabs the toddler’s hand and leads her to the back of the room, where a few other kids are playing. 

Jughead gives them one last glance as he and Betty head out the door. 

They go to the toy store and get another present for the twins, then the candy store, then to Pop’s. While Jughead devours his burger, Betty sits and contemplates getting a present for Cheryl. She definitely wasn’t planning on it before, mostly because she didn’t think Cheryl would ever come back to this town, but now that she’s here, and volunteering at a daycare, and taking care of Juniper…

“Should we get a present for Cheryl,” she asks. 

Jughead stops eating and looks at her. He thinks for a second, then replies, “I don’t see why not.”

They return to the daycare with a box of chocolate covered cherries. When they enter the building, Cheryl is sitting on a chair, reading to the children. She talks animatedly, reading in different voices for the different parts and leaving the right amount of distance in between sentences to add suspense or drama. She looks up at Betty and Jughead, then sets down the book and walks over to them. “Are you ready to pick her up,” she asks. 

“Well, we were,” Betty states. “But, since she seems to be enjoying this story,” she hesitates and looks up at Jughead, who nods slightly. “We’ll wait until you’re done.” 

Cheryl nods, then walks back to the kids and resumes reading the book. When it’s done, Juniper looks to the front and sees Betty and Jughead. She smiles broadly and runs over to them. 

“Alright, how much do we owe you,” Jughead asks Cheryl. Betty embraces Juniper. 

Cheryl answers, “Nothing. She was a joy.”

“Are-are you sure,” he asks. 

She nods, a small smile on her face. Jughead tells Betty, who smiles and says earnestly, “Thank you, Cheryl.”

Betty nearly walks out, then remembers the present. She turns around and says, “Hey, Cheryl?”

Cheryl turns around and walks back to the desk. Betty grabs the box and hands it to Cheryl. 

The redhead looks at it for a second, then looks back at Betty, a large smile on her face. She reaches over the desk and hugs Betty. Betty is a little surprised, but she hugs her back. 

Betty, Jughead, and Juniper leave the daycare, and on the way out, Betty looks back at Cheryl. She is walking around, handing each of the kids a chocolate covered cherry. 

**Author's Note:**

> Please kudos and tell me what you think!


End file.
